


Rainstorms and Green Tea

by Mothmans_Ass



Category: Fruits Basket
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:08:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28531959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mothmans_Ass/pseuds/Mothmans_Ass
Summary: Kyo stumbles into a coffee shop on a rainy day, meeting a girl named Tohru and the worst green tea he's ever had.
Relationships: Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou
Comments: 7
Kudos: 33





	Rainstorms and Green Tea

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written a Coffe Shop AU before and I was suddenly struck with inspiration to do so. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for taking the time to read it.

If someone were to ask Kyo Sohma why he went out of his way every day to visit the rundown little coffee shop on the edge of town, he would claim it was because he like their green tea. He would also inform the person asking it wasn't any of their business. He was an adult, free to do as he pleased once he finished helping his Master with morning lessons in the dojo. However, if you looked close enough even he couldn't hide the faint reddening of his cheeks. If someone were to point that out he would aggressively deny it. 

In truth, the green tea was terrible. It was quite possibly the worst green tea Kyo had ever had. 

It was a girl named Tohru with clear brown eyes and the warmest smile Kyo had ever seen that had him coming back over and over. Her and her terrible green tea. 

As he sat alone, waiting for Tohru to make his order, Kyo's gaze drifted to the window. It was a clear day today, so different from the first day he stumbled into the coffee shop. The rain that day had come out of nowhere. Kyo had the day off so he had decided to take a walk with no particular destination in mind. He had made it pretty far when he felt the first drop fall on the back of his head. At first, he thought he had imagined it so he pressed on. Then another one fell, and another. And suddenly the rain was pouring down, immediately drenching Kyo. 

For some reason, Kyo didn't do very well in rain. It made him incredibly drowsy and weak so he was even more eager to get somewhere dry and warm. He scanned the area around him before his gaze landed on the coffee shop. He made a break for it, sprinting into the shop. A bell chimed over his head and the first thing Kyo had noticed was how _empty_ it was. As in, Kyo seemed to be the only person in the lobby and he didn't see anyone behind the counter either. He spotted another door behind the counter so he figured the workers were busy in the back. Shivering to himself, Kyo decided to try and dry off a little in the bathroom. 

As he was making his way towards it, a figure burst out of the back causing Kyo to jump. 

"I'm sorry! I didn't hear you come in! I was baking some cookies to put in the display," the girl bowed apologetically. She looked up at Kyo, moving to the register to take his order. "Is there something I can get you?"

 _Something hot would be nice right now,_ he thought to himself. Kyo stepped up to the register, eyes scanning the menu. He fished his wallet out of his pocket-both of which were also wet. "Just a small green tea I guess."

She nods, taking a little longer than necessary to ring him up. Her finger hovering over the screen as she tried to find the green tea. The girls' lips moved silently as she read the options to herself. After shivering for the millionth time, Kyo just left some money on the counter and told her to keep the change. 

Kyo hurried into the bathroom, working on drying himself off with a combination of paper towels and the automatic hand dryer. The latter helping to warm him up a little even though he had to stand awkwardly under it. He had been thankful no one was there to see him, he felt ridiculous. He combed his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tame the mostly dry, orange locks. Once he was done, he gathered the used paper towels and shoved them into the trash before stepping back out of the bathroom. 

The girl had her back to him, and his change was in the tip jar. He squinted at the change and then at the menu. The change was short. Well, that was her own fault, Kyo would have thought she would have paid more attention because it was _her_ tip she would be messing up. 

Even though he told himself he didn't really care, Kyo found himself speaking up. "Hey you short-"

The girl made a noise of surprise, jumping and in the process dropping Kyos cup on the ground. Green tea splattered on the floor and Kyo looked at the girl in stunned silence. 

The bowing started again as a flurry of apologies spilled from the girls' lips. Even though he hadn't said anything the way she was apologizing made him feel guilty as though he had snapped at her. He could feel himself grow a little flustered, and his voice was a little louder than he intended it to be. "It's fine! Just make a new tea! Just stop apologizing already."

The girl-now that she wasn't bowing Kyo noticed the name tag, which read Tohru-stopped bowing and surprised Kyo with a look of determination. "Right, you sit down and wait. I'll make the best green tea you've ever had!"

She turned her back to him once again, and Kyo stood there a moment before going to sit down with a shake of his head. He looked out the window, the rain hadn't let up and it looked like it wouldn't any time soon based on the darkening storm clouds. At first, he thought of calling someone to bring him an umbrella, one of his cousins maybe. But then he imagined how annoying any of them would be about it so he decided against it. It looked like he would wait here until the rain slowed or stopped. What a pain. 

"One green tea," Tohru says as she sits the cup down. She smiles down at Kyo, "Thank you for the wait."

As far as smiles go, she had a nice one. It made Kyo feel warm, warmer than the hand dryer had. It was bright too, and Kyo found himself comparing it to the sun. Which immediately embarrassed him. 

"Th-thanks," he stammered, picking up the cup. The cup was hot against his fingers, which didn't stop him from bringing it to his lips and taking a big gulp. Like a moron. 

It scalded the inside of his mouth and Kyo choked as he swallowed. He pounded his chest until his eyes watered and he could hear Tohru's panicked voice asking if he was ok and did he want her to get him water. That last part struck him as odd but he was too busy recovering from his near-death experience to tell her that. 

He finally stopped coughing and Tohru was twisting her hands nervously as she watched him. Now that he had calmed down, something occurred to Kyo. He lifted the tea to his lips, ignoring Tohru's protests and took a careful sip, and then just as carefully swallowing the liquid. 

Then he laughed. 

Tohru looked at him in surprise, "Are you ok? Should I call someone?"

He shakes his head, taking another sip just to start laughing immediately after. He grins up at her, "This is the worst tea I've ever had! How do you mess up green tea?" He had almost died! Drinking what had to be the worst thing he had ever tasted! Maybe the lack of oxygen from choking had messed with his brain, making this funnier than it should have been. 

Tohru looked at him, her gaze sheepish. "I'm _so_ sorry! I only just started working here so I'm still new." Her eyes once again shifted to something like determination, "I promise I'll get better though!"

He wasn't sure what it was, but Kyo had found the determination in her eyes oddly endearing. He had known her for barely an hour but Kyo felt some amount of fondness for the girl. Something in her smile was oddly familiar too. That part puzzled Kyo because he was certain he had never met her before but he couldn't deny the way he felt like he had seen her smile before today. An unreachable memory tugging at the corners of his mind. 

He must have been staring for too long because the girl waved a hand in front of his face, his cheeks warming as he focused back on her. "Sorry," he looks out the window, a little disappointed to see that the rain had slowed to a drizzle. "It looks like the rains slowed so I should go now. Thank you for the tea." Kyo rose to his feet, stretching before grabbing the cup with the rest of his tea.

Tohru reaches for the cup, "I can throw that away for you. I'm sure you don't want to finish it."

He shakes his head, "I'll finish it." He smiles at the look of surprise on her face. "I think I'll come back again so make sure you improve ok?"

Her lips parted, a small smile growing on her face. "Sure!"

And that was that. Kyo has been coming here for a few months now. He came as often as possible, never going more than a few days without stopping by. Sometimes he was the only customer and sometimes there were a few other people scattered among the lobby. The coffee shop seemed to get just enough business to keep afloat. To Kyo, it seemed that the only bad thing was the green tea. It was also the only thing he ever ordered. 

"Kyo? Here is your tea," a voice snapped him from his thoughts and he looked up. 

Tohru looked expectantly at him, that now-familiar glint of determination in her eyes. His brows raised in amusement, "Do you think this is it? The best cup of green tea?"

She nods, looking pleased with herself. "This is the most careful I've ever made a cup before! Plus I've had a lot of practice in the last few months."

"Well that is true," he says. "But they've all been pretty bad."

She holds the drink tray close to her chest, "This one is it! I can feel it Kyo!"

God, he loved the way she said his name. It was like his name was a song and it was growing to be his favorite. He smiles, "Alright then, if you say so."

He brings the tea to his lips, blowing on it first so he didn't burn his tongue. He takes a sip under Tohru's eager stare, his eyes widening. He looks up at her as if amazed. 

She leans close to him, her own eyes wide. "What do you think?"

"It... it's _good,"_ he tells her. 

She beams down at him, "I knew it!"

"Yeah," he agrees, smiling softly. "You did. Good job Tohru." Without thinking much of it, he reaches out to pat her head. His expression fond as she looks at him with a faint pink in her cheeks. 

To be honest, the tea was just as bad as it always was. If anything, Kyo was certain it had gotten worse. Out of everything else, making green tea was the one thing she never improved on. Kyo didn't know how she did it, he had even watched her make it a few times, but it was always the same. It didn't stop him from drinking the entire thing every time either. He had it so often Kyo was certain it had actually become his favorite flavor of green tea. No...that wasn't right. It wasn't because he had it so often, though it probably helped. It was because Tohru made it. She made it each time with that determined glint in her eye like today was going to be the day she made the best green tea Kyo had ever tasted. Little did she know she had already succeeded. She had made it the first day they met, when he had burned the inside of his mouth and when her smile had warmed him more than those silly hand dryers had. It was his favorite flavor made in a way that only his favorite person could make it. 

And maybe one day he'd be able to tell her. 


End file.
